I never wanted to be a music writer. It all happened by accident.
Early last year I was invited by a friend to Big Car for the 2006 Indy Label Showcase. Being a bit of a recluse, I didn't want to go. But I felt obligated to attend.
It was my first time seeing local music. The first band performing was This Story, an 11 piece indie-folk group consisting of mostly teenaged musicians. They had just signed with Standard Recording Company and as soon as they took the stage — a stretch of wooden floor with a backdrop of overflowing shelves, a cluttered desk, and one solitary desk lamp acting as their spotlight — they burst into a swirling instrumental entitled "One Foot Off the Merry-Go-Around." They had guitars and a Wurlitzer, multiple horns, a banjolin, a violin, a xylophone, and many other instruments. I fell in love with their music immediately. They changed my life, putting on the path of music journalism and introducing me to a new aspect of music: the local scene.
Days later I bought a collection of music articles by Jim Derogatis entitled "Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the '90s" and began to teach myself how to write about music. I felt the need to write about this band, and any others I saw afterwards. I began obsessively documenting Indiana music.
Being published in NUVO soon became my number one goal. My first attempt at writing for the paper was a review of a June 2006 This Story performance. That attempt failed.
Not deterred, I continued to attend shows and write about what I saw. Soon I discovered Arrah and the Ferns. And after them, Everthus the Deadbeats. Along with This Story, the three bands would form my holy trinity of local music.
It's been over a year now since I was introduced to the music scene. In that time I've achieved my goal of writing for NUVO. I've been able to meet and write about bands I loved like Margot and the Nuclear So and So's and Grampall Jookabox/ BIGBIGcar. NUVO has also allowed me to meet, write about, and become a fan of many bands I didn't know like Dorsey and Mandy Marie and the Cool Hand Lukes.
This Thursday night, though, things start to come full circle. I will board a bus and head to New York City where I will meet This Story, who will be two days into their second tour of the summer. The band will be performing two shows in the city: one at a place called the Yippie Museum and another at the Knitting Factory. I will be there documenting their adventures with my friend Miranda Murray, who will be taking pictures. You'll get to read all about it in August.
Miranda and I will remain in New York for a few days after the band leaves. I have a ticket to see my favorite musician, Nick Cave, open for the White Stripes with his side project, Grinderman, at Madison Square Garden. Outside of that, I have no idea what we will end up doing.
But whatever we do, you can read about it here.
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